In one of the old Liverpool Mercury newspapers I have, dated Friday October 11th 1833, I've come across a huge list of people who attended the "Fancy Ball" in fancy dress at the Town Hall, as part of the celebrations for the Music Festival that were going on that year. The list is enormous and includes what each person was wearing and in many cases where they were from By 1833 the Liverpool Mercury was a broad sheet newspaper (earlier editions were tabloid) and this list spans across about three whole pages of the paper. , looks as if the whole of Liverpool, Lancs and beyond attended this ball!!!..except the poor people of course!. At some point in the future, I will try to put it all on web pages. but for now I'm willing to do look-ups from the list. Please mail me at cpwill5@aol.com, if anyone wants a look up from this list An example of the data contained in the list, here are all the MADDOCKS, they seem to be one family : MADDOCK Miss, in a fancy dress MADDOCK John in a Greek dress MADDOCK Mr Upper Stanhope street, as a Greek Cheiftain MADDOCKS Mrs John, as an archer Here are some snips from the large article about the ball: The Fancy Ball On this as, on former occasions of the kind, the amusements and enjoyments of the Festival concluded with a grand Fancy Dress Ball, on Friday evening, at the Town Hall, the use of which was kindly granted by the Mayor and Common Council to the Festival Committee for the occasion. This truly unique and fascinating exhibition has always been considered the crowning festivity of the week, and we are happy to be enabled to state, that in no repect, when we consider the number of people who attended, the excellence of the arrangements...... The Fancy Ball then, as it is most appropriately termed, has ever been considered the grand focus of attraction, and our citizens, their wives and their daughters, have always shown themselves most anxious to avail themselves of the opportunity which it affords to throw off their every day habilitments and characters and assume for the nonce, those of the heroes and heroines of history, fiction and drama........... Consequently as, for a long time previosly to the eventful evening, nothing was to be heard of but enquiries and anticipation concerning the fancy ball: go where you would you were met by the enquiry, "Are you going to the Fancy Ball?" and at every corner you witnessed, the busy notes of preparation.............. Tailors, mantua makers, jewellers and dealers in fancy articles of all description were put into active requisition...... A few days beforehand, very spendid dresses could be hired for a guinea or thirty shillings............. Without the doors of the Town Hall, every precaution was taken to secure order and prevent accidents on the arrival and departure of carriages Strong barricades, were erected in Castle street, Dale street and Water street, to keep off all the crowd A military guard was stationed at the front of the Town Hall, at the side entrance, and opposite the piazzas of the Exchange, and a strong body of constables, captains of the nightly watch, and dock police under the command of Messers PARLOUR, WHITTY and DOWLING................ Caryl Williams "America you will never walk alone" Birkenhead-L List administrator Ancestor Quest UK and Ireland Genealogy http://caryl_williams.tripod.com/index.html Liverpool Churches http://caryl_williams.tripod.com/churches-2.html Liverpool marriages and Obits http://caryl_williams.tripod.com/Liverpool.html Liverpool Snippets http://caryl_williams.tripod.com/Liversnips.html

Caryl I would be very interested if anyone called DWERRYHOUSE attended the ball. Regards Paul Dwerryhouse Hawarden, Flintshire, UK.